Optical Implementation of Quantum Orienteering

We present results from an optical implementation of quantum orienteering, a protocol for communicating directions in space using quantum bits. We show how different types of measurements and encodings can be used to increase the communication efficiency. In particular, if Alice and Bob use two spin-1/2 particles for communication and employ joint measurements, they do better than is possible with local operations and classical communication. Furthermore, by using oppositely oriented spins, the achievable communication efficiency is further increased. Finally, we discuss the limitations of an optical approach: our results highlight the usually overlooked nonequivalence of different physical encodings of quantum bits.